Games and Morals: Do They Mix?

MWEB Gamezone writer Welshpixie talks about Doug TenNapel's Armikrog being successfully funded on Kickstarter despite controversy about his homophobic attitudes. Should you let your personal beliefs get in the way of your gaming, and what's the price to pay if you do, or don't?

I 100% agree with you Han - however one must take a social responsibility for one's actions and their effects on those that are the ones being ridiculed or chastised due to religious, sexual and or any other belief or lifestyle that may not conform to that of another. I personally wouldn't support someone with homophobic, racial and discriminatory views due to my own personal feelings on such things. But, that is my choice, as it would be the choice of another to support such a person. But Del, what an awesome article. Really thought provoking as Han says.

Thank ye! It's a funny thing - TenNapel actively made a choice to visit a pro-gay forum and leave disparaging comments. How could he have thought that WOULDN'T have gone badly for him? It was within his realm of possibility to just say 'nope, I don't like these people but I'm not going to go to their neck of the woods and make a scene'. Instead he chose to enter their domain and fling poop. It's childish behaviour even before getting to the context. I'm inclined to say it's a shame that his kickstarter DID make its funding; there was a chance there that if it hadn't, it would have given him some food for thought. Alternatively if you're more inclined toward the pessimistic school of thought it could also have given him more material to rage against gay people, heh. "You killed my kickstarter, damn you!"

Good writing, but one really has to look at what is going too far, versus... not. You have those extremist games that came out about shooting the very type of people that this guy says are awesome, as far as his views are concerned. Games as art can definately explore limits, but even those limits are still arbitrary and dictated by society. Somehow. Also, didn't wagner die like the century before the Nazi Party came about?